Facebook as a propaganda minefield

When you scroll through Facebook, you might expect to see updates from friends, family, or your favorite brands—but what if your feed was suddenly filled with glowing posts about Russia’s military might, stunning architecture, or vibrant culture? You might wonder where these posts are coming from and why they’re appearing now. In this investigative piece, Propastop pulls back the curtain on a sophisticated network of pro-Russian Facebook pages that are quietly influencing perceptions around the world.

The Propastop team conducted an investigation and uncovered a hidden network on Facebook responsible for creating and developing these pages. On average, each of the pages we analyzed has around 156,300 followers.

Discover the global web of administrators behind these pages and the surprising tactics they’re using to reshape Russia’s image—one post at a time.

One of the most notable pages is “Russia Beyond,” the only one explicitly labeled as Russia state-controlled media. With over 2.3 million followers, it stands out due to its massive audience. However, despite its impressive follower count, each post needs to work on garnering more than 150 likes, suggesting a significant disconnect between the page’s reach and its actual engagement.

Interestingly, “Russia Beyond” is also the oldest of the pages identified, having been created on August 13, 2008, coinciding with the Russia-Georgia war.

In 2019, there was a notable surge in the creation of pro-Russian Facebook pages, each with distinct themes and diverse origins. These pages, such as “Australian Russia Unofficial” and “Future Russia,” are managed by administrators based in Serbia and aim to shape perceptions of Russia’s global influence. Another example is “Magnificent Russian Beauty,” run by admins in Russia and Ecuador, which focuses on promoting the allure of Russian aesthetics. Adding to this network is the page “Russia Россия,” managed from Iraq, contributing to the spread of pro-Russian narratives across different regions.

Facebook’s transparency features reveal that these pages are managed by administrators from a wide array of countries, extending far beyond Russia’s borders. The global reach includes admins located in Australia, Serbia, Ecuador, Iraq, Germany, Indonesia, Israel, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Estonia. This extensive network highlights a coordinated effort aimed at influencing perceptions of Russia on a global scale, suggesting a sophisticated operation with widespread impact.

Many of these pages have received negative feedback, with approval ratings falling below 50%. Furthermore, a significant number of these pages have opted to disable the ratings feature, potentially to avoid drawing attention to unfavorable reviews. 

“Look how strong russian military is!”

Pages such as Replay News, Cricket Club, Military Aviation, and Yuyun, although labelled as U.S.-based blogs, are all managed by Indonesian administrators. These pages actively promote pro-Russian military content, emphasizing Russia’s military strength and capabilities. Managing these pages from Indonesia while presenting them as U.S.-based blogs is likely a tactic to reach a broader audience and lend credibility by appearing neutral. This approach masks the true origins, making the content more persuasive globally. By promoting Russia’s military strength, these pages aim to sway public opinion in Russia’s favor, undermine Western narratives, and support Russia’s broader geopolitical interests.

“Look how beautiful Russia is!”

If military and political issues don’t capture your attention, pro-Russian pages will likely show you breathtaking images of cities like Moscow or St. Petersburg. These pages garner substantial interaction, including pro-Ukrainian users and members of NAFO. For instance, the page “From Russia with Love,” managed by an admin based in Russia, exemplifies the strategic effort to engage a wider audience through cultural content. The primary goal of these pages is to portray Russia as a culturally rich and desirable place to live, thereby enhancing its international image.

The goal of the “Mother Russia” page is to enhance Russia’s international image by highlighting its cultural richness and peaceful landscape. By promoting these positive aspects, the page aims to foster a more favorable perception of Russia globally, countering negative narratives and bolstering its soft power influence.

Among all these pages, only one—Я люблю тебя, Россия (I Love You, Russia)—uses Russian as its primary language. Despite having 36,000 followers, its posts rarely receive more than 50  likes. This low engagement could indicate a disconnect between the page’s content and its audience.

Many of these pages frequently repost each other’s content, indicating an established and coordinated network. This frequent reposting of content among the pages suggests a deliberate strategy to amplify their messaging and reinforce pro-Russian narratives. By sharing each other’s posts, the pages create an echo chamber effect, increasing the visibility and perceived legitimacy of the content. This coordination helps to strengthen the network’s influence and ensures a consistent message is delivered across multiple platforms. 

“USSR wasn’t that bad after all”

For those nostalgic about the USSR, two Russian-speaking admins based in Germany are sharing pro-USSR content, including WWII images of Soviet troops portrayed as liberators and heroes, along with old USSR posters promoting communist ideals. This content is likely aimed at rekindling a sense of pride and nostalgia for the Soviet era, reinforcing positive perceptions of communism, and appealing to those who view the USSR as a symbol of strength and liberation. By doing so, the admins seek to revive and sustain pro-Soviet sentiments within their audience.

The pro-Russian Facebook pages examined here reveal a sophisticated and coordinated effort to influence global perceptions of Russia. From promoting military might and cultural richness to rekindling nostalgia for the Soviet Union, these pages employ diverse content strategies tailored to different audience segments. Whether managed by administrators from Indonesia, Russia, or Germany, these pages are part of a broader information campaign aimed at enhancing Russia’s image, countering Western narratives, and advancing Russia’s geopolitical interests.

The use of international admins, the creation of interconnected networks through content reposting, and the strategic masking of true origins all point to a calculated approach designed to maximize the reach and credibility of pro-Russian narratives. By blending cultural content with political messaging, these pages aim to appeal to a wide range of users, making the propaganda more subtle yet effective.

The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into Meta’s handling of political content, focusing on suspected Russian influence campaigns. Concerns include Meta’s oversight of advertising tools and transparency in moderating political content. Meta faces potential fines for non-compliance as a “huge online platform” under the Digital Services Act. Meta expressed its commitment to cooperating with the investigation.